


Happy Medium

by NightFell



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: Jedi Apprentice Series - Jude Watson & Dave Wolverton
Genre: F/M, Ficlet, Friendship/Love, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-12
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2019-03-03 17:41:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13346229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NightFell/pseuds/NightFell
Summary: Attachment is forbidden. Qui-Gon Jinn must deal with matters of the heart.





	Happy Medium

The Room of a Thousand Fountains was one of Qui-Gon’s favorite locations in the Jedi Temple. The greenhouse was filled with lush flora from hundreds of worlds across the galaxy and the air around him practically sang with the Living Force. As a youngling, he would often retreat to his favorite spot by the lake when he needed to be alone. Many years had passed since then but still he found himself returning again and again to this sanctuary when his laden heart grew too heavy to bear.

When Qui-Gon arrived, someone else was already there- the very someone who preoccupied his mind and heart over the past months. He was about to turn and leave when Tahl tilted her head to the side. “Leaving already?” She chided.

Caught, Qui-Gon had no choice but to stay. He was a tall man but he knelt gracefully in the grass next to her.

“I needed to get away. It is exhausting being treated as an invalid all the time.” Tahl gave him a small half-grin, her striking green and gold eyes finding his face instantly. Qui-Gon began to smile in return but suddenly remembered that it would make no difference to Tahl. He still found it hard to look fully into her eyes, knowing that they would never see again.

The bright expression on Tahl’s face faltered and fell. “You’re feeling sorry for me again,” She turned away with a resigned sigh. Qui-Gon couldn’t help but feel irritation rise and spill.

“You misunderstand my concern.” He said curtly. With a sinking feeling, Qui-Gon immediately regretted his thoughtless reply. He did not mean to sound so brusque.

The sharp edge of his words was not lost on Tahl though. She regarded him with an arched eyebrow. “Then what is it?” Her tone was unrelenting. She had never been one to back down from a challenge.

Qui-Gon nearly said it. On the tip of his tongue were the words that he longed to say to her. He had spent months wrestling and sorting through tangled emotions until he finally realized what his heart had been trying to say. Tahl looked at him curiously, picking up on his sudden distress. Qui-Gon felt his breath catch. He knew what his feelings were, but he was not sure of hers. Was he willing to take the risk though? Was it fair for him to put their friendship to the test? The moment hung suspended between them and fell, swirling into the depths of the lake.

“I apologize. I have had a lot on my mind lately.” Qui-Gon gave a small smile, “I...care for you very much. Is it wrong for an old friend to worry?”

Tahl was silent for awhile. For a moment Qui-Gon thought he had upset her. But when he looked at her, there was a faint smile playing around her lips. Tahl closed her eyes and tilted her face upward. “Do you remember the time we climbed those cliffs?”

“Of course I do.” Qui-Gon gazed across the lake at the sheer rock face rising high above the rippling water, “We were supposed to be in meditation class. Master Yoda nearly caught us.”

“Ah yes, that would have been unfortunate.” Tahl’s sightless eyes flashed as she grinned and nudged him. “But we didn’t get caught.”

“I’ll never forget that day, though.” She continued, the smile on her face grew wider at the memory. “It was the first time I truly felt the Force- The moment that it all suddenly started to make sense and I began to understand what it meant to be a Jedi.”

Qui-Gon couldn’t help but smile as he watched Tahl. She looked radiant. She looked happy, content... _Complete_. His heart gave a painful lurch but he pushed the feeling aside.

“I’ll never forget that day either.” He nudged Tahl in return, “That was the day we decided to become friends.”

She gave a gentle smile and looked at him, her eyes green and gold. 

“Yes, friends forever.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was a JediFest December Drabbles daily treat prompt from forever ago that refused to leave me alone. It started as a quick drabble that sort of...got longer. This piece had to be done though- JA was what solidly entrenched me into the SW fandom and it was how I discovered what fanfiction was all those years ago. I entertained the idea of writing a fic for the series back then but never could imagine myself actually doing it. I guess I have changed, in a good way. By the way, I totally shipped these two before I knew what shipping even was lol


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